Jørmund moved between Aura and Flicker ready to intercept either should it escalate. Fortunately Rala and Cascade had managed to get them both to calm down some. It wasn't the first time someone had pushed someone on a subject. He knew he had done it several times, and had it done to him on other occasions. With a glance at both he relaxed himself seeing them calm some. He gave both Aura and Flicker a look indicating if they wanted to discuss this with someone later he would be available to listen.

"Well now that we have decided we don't like being involved in a genie war, let's get what supplies we need for our journey to Cascade's home. I'm sure we will have time to work out our grievances on the way." He said while moving from in-between Flicker and Aura. This was likely going to be a long enough trip and it did not need to be one where friend was against friend. The cleric hoped these two would take some time to work out whatever it was that was bothering them.

At the very least there would be some time to mend his mail if neither of them wished to discuss their problems with him. His mind started to wander to the raiders that were potentially heading towards Cascade's home. Unseasonable snowstorms would send many south, some for trade others for just taking whatever they wanted. He hoped that whoever was coming south was someone he knew and could talk sense to. There was the unsettling feeling, maybe in part of the side effects of the zing, that Haraldr could be involved in this. Jørmund wasn't sure if his own presence being there would help the locals of this was Haraldr.

"How long of a trip are we looking at Cascade?" The question was more to distract himself from thinking of the visage of Haraldr and the possibility of them being the leader of this potential raiding party.

Cascade listened as the others spoke, until Jormund spoke up. She raised an eyebrow at his words. She hadn't really spoken her mind on the matter of the genie war, but she didn't say anything. Instead she was somewhat confused on why he would ask how far Zephyr was again.

But then again...she had told him before that battle. So she couldn't really blame him if he forgot during the previous attack on the camp.

She answered him, "Oh...Zephyr's only two days away. I'll lead you there,"

"It's a good thing I've come now then." A voice spoke up. "It would have been a bad look if you left here empty handed after doing all you did for us." The one speaking these words was none other than the leader of the highwaymen, a sack hefted over one shoulder. Mixer, the goblin who had been giving out those energy potions before, trailed along behind the simic hybrid. The goblin was holding a potion bag and eyeing the party warily, especially Flicker and Rala.

Cascade blinked at the sound of the familiar voice and turned to see the leader of the Highwaymen and goblin potion maker. She greeted, her cheer completely returning, "Oh! Aloha!" She then answers her comment about them leaving empty-handed, "I'm just glad we were here to help out,"

She knew she couldn't really speak for the others, but she was genuinely glad that they prevented an attack on this camp.

Rala jumped and turned at the voice, so distracted by the conversation that she didn't hear the two of them walk up. it dawned on her how comfortable she was growing with this group. Defusing arguements, bantering with Aura, even vowing vengeance for another. Now she was letting her guard down around them, in her mind she was getting sloppy.

Seeing the Goblin look at her with distain she glowered back at him, but her expression softened. He had proved to be very helpful in keeping the fighters in good shape, and he had given his potions out for free. Despite her distrust for goblinkind she relented on any more suspicious looks at him. He was even willing to offer them gifts. Rala cut in before anyone else could interject after Cascade replied with so much humility.

"But we will gladly take a reward!" She added hastily, though she frowned again when she saw Mixer. That bag certainly wasn't full of gold.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well to start off with, we have the traditional adventurer's payment of being made king for a day." The leader of the highwaymen said before fishing five platinum pieces from her pocket and giving one to each member of the party. "And then there is the matter of your share of the loot. We took everything of value from the attackers we killed or captured in battle. And after adding up how much we'll make from selling what we won't use, everyone who took part in the battle is getting a cut of the profit based on how much danger they faced." The leader of the highwaymen then produced five coin purses from the sack she was carrying. Flicker, Cascade, Aura and Rala each got a reasonably weighty purse of 150 gold pieces for their contributions. Meanwhile, Jørmund got a notably heavier purse of 200 gold pieces for putting himself a greater risk on the front lines.

Once the leader of the highway men had given them their gold, she stepped back and allowed mixer to approach with her potion bag. Mixer went over to Cascade, who she regarded a lot more happily due to perceiving her comments she made about Zing before the battle as compliments. "Mixer give you five-ten Zing bottles." Mixer said as she gave the potion bag to Cascade. "That three Zing bottles for each of you. No drink four though. Not safe. Sleep before bottle four. Then safe to drink three more."

The expression on Cascade's face gave Jørmund pause and left him wondering if he had asked this question already. She still answered the question stating that she would lead the way there. It didn't keep him from feeling like a fool but it made him consider for a brief moment how much of whiskey to try to bring on the venture.

That moment ended as the leader of the highway men arrived with the goblin who had given the zing out last night. With a curtious nod Jørmund took the pouch and set it in the bag with the rest of the his gear. "Much appreciated. As good as it was to be able to help, getting paid for it is good as well. Helps keep the flask, and the belly full. Speaking of which where can we get some supplies before we head out? Or had someone already told us that as well and I took a few to many blows to the head?"

Aura took her pouch of gold and the platinum piece. She handed the platinum to Hawk. The familiar gripped it happily with his front feet. The familiar had the habbit of embodying the personalities of specific forms. Now, as a pseudodragon, he very much enjoyed making little hoards of various shiny things. It was part of the reason she usually kept him out of this form, but she felt he was going to need the advantages his current form afforded him so she would have to get used to him stealing random bits and bobs from her. As long as he didn't try to take the other's shiny things everything should be fine. Aura would just have to keep the beast sated.

Speaking of sated, Jormund spoke up asking about supplies. "I don't recall anyone saying anything. Though that doesn't change the fact that you do indeed have the memory of an 80 year old human man. You should really protect that head of yours, the rest of your body won't function without it. Can't go about slaying your enemies if you have too many blunt force injuries to the head." She knew Jormund was tough, the Earth Genasi had taken far more blows than any of the others would likely be able to handle. It didn't stop Aura from giving him a hard time about it though. Taking jabes at the others was something she could almost never pass up on.

"What supplies are you after?" The leader asked in response to Jørmund's question. "Because of last night's attack, we haven't really opened for business today. I can open the shops you need, but I'll need to know which ones you're after so I can pull their shop keeps away from clean up or find stand ins for the ones who are injured or hungover."

Flicker gave a barely audible "Thank you" to highwayman's leader when they were handed their pouch of money. It was clear that after that tense conversation they had retreated into themself, and were not really engaging much in what was going on around them. They pocketed the money before crossing their arms back over their chest and continuing to half-listen to the conversation going on around them.

"Food and drink for the trip. However much whiskey I can buy with fifteen gold... no probably ought to go for twenty gold worth, don't want to run out to fast. A tent as well. I've grown tired of sleeping outside and getting rained on." The earthen cleric turned to the rest of his party. "Anything in particular the rest of you want? Particular food?"

"Better add an extra bottle of whiskey for me in that pile of booze, gods only know if I don't claim my own bottle you will drink all of it yourself." Aura wasn't a heavy drinker, she did so socially but that was about it. One to many drunken mistakes in her youth, she knew better now. "Other than that food and water seem about alright, at least for me, though I suppose getting us all tents wouldn't be the worst idea, or at least a few we can share. After all I can only sleep in my bottle for half the night...Stupid thing boots me out if I stay in it for too long..." She rattled the stoppered bottle attached to her belt as she spoke. As much as she loved the vessel she was given, she never quite understood it's properties to the fullest. It was great storage for the items the group didn't need on the regular. And she had used it to spy on more than her fair share of conversations from inside it. But she could only enter it once pre day for a specific ammount of time and she had yet to figure out why exactly that was.

Cascade was surprised that Rala immediately jumped in to accept the gifts before Cascade could refuse them. She gently accepted the bag of Zing Potions from the goblin and a "Mahalo! We appreciate this and your warning,"

She noticed that Flicker is still withdrawn, and she had a feeling that it was best to give them space. But even so, she was still worried about them.

When the talk of alcohol came up, she piped up excitedly, "Ooh! Let's get rum too! Both light and dark! They're good! And! If we get some pineapple, oranges, and limes as well, we could make Mai Tais!" It was clear that she is a social drinker as well,

She then looked to Aura when she mentioned the necessities, and...going into her stoppered bottle?

Cascade tilted her head and looked very confused for a good while before she asked Aura, "You can squeeze yourself in there?"

She looks to the rest of the party and asks in surprise, "She can fit herself...in there?!"

She looks at the bottle and at Aura and she couldn't help but ask, "....How?!"

Despite their mood, Flicker managed a genuine snort of laughter at Cascade's exclamation. "Really? That's the thing you can't suspend you disbelief at?" they respond.

Aura looked at Cascade for a breif moment trying to decide if she wanted to mess with the Water Genasi or give her a truthful answer. She had to fight with herself to not answer Cascade in half truths and sarcastic comments, and she had to hide the smirk that crossed her lips as she thought about it. Aura couldn't fully explain how it worked but she could give a rather simple answer at least. "Genie shit." She considered leaving her answer at that but decied it would be best to explain a little farther. "With the power my father lends me I gained just the tiniest bit of his abilities. One of which is the vessel, not only can I fit in here through Genie magic and all that fun stuff, but it makes a very secure storage spot for things one doesn't want stolen but doesn't need access to on the regular. Anything I have with me I can bring into the bottle and nobody but me can get them out. Plus if someone does happens to steal the bottle for some reason I can simply summon it back to me. I can't really explain how it works so please don't ask for more."

She removed the bottle from the chain that connected it to her belt and handed it to Cascade to examine. It was a rather unimpressive bottle compared to the others she kept on her that were filled with various colorful liquids. Though it felt like a glass bottle, it was more sturdy feeling than normal glass and the glass appeared to be black so the contents inside were not visible, if there were any contents. If Cascade where to unstopper the bottle and peer inside all she would see is the same deep black color the glass appeared to be making it unclear if the contents inside were what gave the glass it's color or not. If Cascade were to shake the bottle it would make no sound, seeming to indicate it was empty.

Cascade looked surprised that Aura willingly handed the bottle in question to her. After giving Aura a look as though to ask if it was really okay, she accepted the bottle from her carefully.

Cascade proceeded to inspect the bottle from every angle possible, like it was to be another vessel to send a letter to her mother...

She comments as she inspects the bottle, "That's really interesting! The way you put it earlier made it seem like you're an expert in contortion...ism(?) to be able to pull that off, but I don't see any way anyone could pull that off without magic, the dimensions wouldn't allow it..."

At some point, she does take a peek within the bottle. But as she pulls back, some of her watery hair splashes into the bottle. Cascade's eyes widened in realization as the water splashes into the vessel and she couldn't help but utter, "Uh oh!"

She looks to Aura with an apologetic smile before speaks, "Sorry, let me get that out for ya...!"

She then tips the bottle to pour the water out. After simply tipping the bottle to get the water out, she decided to turn the bottle completely upside down and bat at the bottom of the bottle to make sure every single drop was out of the bottle. It like watching someone try to get the last bit of ketchup out of the bottle.

Aura stood there watching Cascade almost in shock before reaching to take it back. "Okay stop smacking the living hells out of it you are going to break it. It's not like a bag of holding items have to be intentionally brought into it by me to effect anything. All you are doing is agressivly jostling my own little pocket space. Give it back." There was panic in Aura's voice as she reached for the bottle, and for the first time her hair, which seemed to constantly have calm billowing winds through it whipped wildly for a moment as the panik was not only audible but visible. Usually she was much better at keeping her elemental aspects in check. She had to stop herself from snatching it out of Cascade's hands knowing that would only put it in more risk.

When Cascade finally gave it back Aura quickly hooked it back onto her belt. "It's magic okay I go in it magically. Your...water hair didnt effect anything. Gods, you are worse than a child." The last part had come out much more agressivly than she had intended it. "If you would have broken this everything in the bottle would have poofed into a pile in front of us and I would have to spend an whole hour getting it back and then the next several days shoving everything back in there...I have been traveling for a long time I have aquired a lot of stuff..." Aura took a deep breath and managed to calm herself down a bit. "Remind me to never let you touch my stuff again."

Cascade immediately stopped and she regained the shocked, bashful look she had when her water hair first spilled into the bottle in the first place. She was surprised to see Aura's hair whip about so wildly, even though there wasn't a storm happening right now. She answered apologetically, "Woah! Okay, I'm sorry. Here!"

She gently handed the bottle back to Aura. When Aura mentioned that she was worse than a child, she nodded and tried to reassure Aura while trying to inject some humor, "Well...At least I didn't wash up on shore yesterday, right? Eh heh heh...heh..."
(It would be easy for anyone to tell that Cascade just said an equivalent of "Being born yesterday")

Cascade listened quietly as Aura explained what would have happened if she had accidentally broken the bottle, and she couldn't help but bite her bottom lip awkwardly. Upon hearing Aura's request to remind her to not let her touch her stuff again, Cascade gave a forlorn answer, "Right. Sorry, again,"

Rala looked in awe at the hefty sack of gold she had just received. Her hand buckled under the surprising weight of the reward as the Highwayman leader let go. The swordswoman's eyes widened in greedy glee and a thin smile crept onto her face at the faint clnnk! of the gold inside. It had been some time since Rala had money to spare, since before she became an adventurer. She wished so dearly to indulge in the 'king for a day treatment but knew the team needed to move on. Still, she couldn't help but indulge. As Jormund brought up the price of booze, Rala scooped up twenty gold pieces and held them out.

"Twenty good pieces worth of booze, and we'd appreciate it if you made it the good stuff," She said bluntly, the closest the warrior got to cordial these days. The Highwaymen had been quite hospitable to their merry band, and even the goblin seemed to have their best interest in mind. She still wouldn't be drinking any of this Zing, though. Her friends could risk the strange side effects.
"And thank you for the reward, it truly is a blessing"

Rala's eyes flicked to Cascade and Flicker for a moment, seeing the two of them prattled on and mingle. For the first time, she watched Aura lose her calm as Cascade smacked the bottom of the bottle. It was oddly satisfying to see someone get a rise out of Aura for once, with all of the chiding and wry remarks they had dished out. Seeing their hair swirl as if caught in the wind almost made her chuckle.
"But I think we had better get a move on once we get those supplies. The sooner we get to Cascade's village, the better"

Cascade looks to Rala when she chuckled and spoke, ushering them along. She answered in agreement, "Auntie Rala has a good point. We probably shouldn't delay. Let's get going!" She sounded much more cheerful as she made her last statement.

During the shopping, she glanced to Aura and her bottle, and decided to get some spare wood from here during the shopping session.

She now knew what she could carve for Aura...